Information processing terminal

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates to an information processing terminal that makes it possible to readily upgrade software of information processing terminals connected by a network. When a control program stored in a display apparatus  5 B is upgraded by a control program stored on a memory card  10 , an upgrade program for a base station  1  and the control program for display apparatus  5 A and  5 C read by the display apparatus  5 B are transmitted to the base station  1 . The base station  1  upgrades a control program stored therein by the upgrade program received by the base station  1 , and also transmits the control program for the display apparatus  5 A and  5 C to the display apparatus  5 A and  5 C. The display apparatus  5 A and  5 C each upgrade a control program stored therein by the upgrade program received by the display apparatus  5 A and  5 C, respectively.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to an information processing terminal, andparticularly to an information processing terminal that makes itpossible to readily upgrade a program.

BACKGROUND ART

With the evolution of network technology and information processingterminals such as personal computers, it has recently become possible toconnect various information processing terminals by a network even in ahome.

These information processing terminals can add various functions theretoby upgrading software being used by the information processingterminals.

However, even with information processing terminals connected to anetwork constructed in a home, when software is to be upgraded, it isnecessary to install software in each of the terminals.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

The present invention has been made in view of the above, and it isaccordingly an object of the present invention to make it possible to,by upgrading software of one information processing terminal, readilyupgrade the software of the other information processing terminalsconnected by a network.

According to the present invention, there is provided a firstinformation processing terminal characterized by including:communicating means for communicating with an information processingapparatus by radio; storing means for storing a first control program;and control program rewriting means for rewriting the first controlprogram stored by the storing means; wherein the control programrewriting means rewrites the old first control program stored in thestoring means on the basis of a new first control program stored on aremovable recording medium, and the communicating means transmits asecond control program stored on the recording medium to the informationprocessing apparatus to upgrade an old second control program.

The communicating means can transmit to the information processingapparatus the second control program for the information processingapparatus corresponding to the first control program obtained by therewriting of the control program rewriting means.

The storing means can store a plurality of first control programs, andthe control program rewriting means can rewrite only one of theplurality of first control programs.

According to the present invention, there is provided an informationprocessing method of the first information processing terminal, theinformation processing method characterized by including: acommunicating step for communicating with an information processingapparatus by radio; a storing step for storing a first control program;and a control program rewriting step for rewriting the first controlprogram stored by processing of the storing step; wherein processing ofthe control program rewriting step rewrites the old first controlprogram stored by the processing of the storing step on the basis of anew first control program stored on a removable recording medium, andprocessing of the communicating step transmits a second control programstored on the recording medium to the information processing apparatusto upgrade an old second control program.

According to the present invention, there is provided a program on afirst recording medium, the program characterized by including: acommunicating step for communicating with an information processingapparatus by radio; a storing step for storing a first control program;and a control program rewriting step for rewriting the first controlprogram stored by processing of the storing step; wherein processing ofthe control program rewriting step rewrites the old first controlprogram stored by the processing of the storing step on the basis of anew first control program stored on a removable recording medium, andprocessing of the communicating step transmits a second control programstored on the recording medium to the information processing apparatusto upgrade an old second control program.

According to the present invention, there is provided a secondinformation processing terminal characterized by including:communicating means for communicating with an information processingapparatus by radio; storing means for storing a control program; andcontrol program rewriting means for rewriting the control program storedby the storing means; wherein the control program rewriting meansrewrites the old control program stored by the storing means on thebasis of a new control program obtained by the communicating means fromthe information processing apparatus.

The storing means can store a plurality of control programs, and thecontrol program rewriting means can rewrite only one of the plurality ofcontrol programs.

The communicating means can obtain a new control program transmittedfrom another information processing terminal to the informationprocessing apparatus.

The second information processing terminal can further include rewritingprohibiting means for prohibiting the rewriting of the control programby the control program rewriting means.

According to the present invention, there is provided an informationprocessing method of the second information processing terminal, theinformation processing method characterized by including: acommunicating step for communicating with an information processingapparatus by radio; a storing step for storing a control program; and acontrol program rewriting step for rewriting the control program storedby processing of the storing step; wherein processing of the controlprogram rewriting step rewrites the old control program stored by theprocessing of the storing step on the basis of a new control programobtained by processing of the communicating step from the informationprocessing apparatus.

According to the present invention, there is provided a program on asecond recording medium, the program characterized by including: acommunicating step for communicating with an information processingapparatus by radio; a storing step for storing a control program; and acontrol program rewriting step for rewriting the control program storedby processing of the storing step; wherein processing of the controlprogram rewriting step rewrites the old control program stored by theprocessing of the storing step on the basis of a new control programobtained by processing of the communicating step from the informationprocessing apparatus.

According to the present invention, there is provided an informationprocessing apparatus characterized by including: communicating means forcommunicating with an information processing terminal by radio; storingmeans for storing a control program; and control program rewriting meansfor rewriting the control program stored by the storing means on thebasis of a control program obtained by the communicating means from theinformation processing terminal.

When a plurality of information processing terminals are provided, thecommunicating means can transmit a control program obtained from a firstinformation processing terminal to a second information processingterminal to upgrade a control program of the second informationprocessing terminal.

According to the present invention, there is provided an informationprocessing method of the information processing apparatus, theinformation processing method characterized by including: acommunicating step for communicating with an information processingterminal by radio; a storing step for storing a control program; and acontrol program rewriting step for rewriting the control program storedby processing of the storing step on the basis of a control programobtained by processing of the communicating step from the informationprocessing terminal.

According to the present invention, there is provided a program on athird recording medium, the program characterized by including: acommunicating step for communicating with an information processingterminal by radio; a storing step for storing a control program; and acontrol program rewriting step for rewriting the control program storedby processing of the storing step on the basis of a control programobtained by processing of the communicating step from the informationprocessing terminal.

According to the present invention, there is provided a firstcommunication system characterized in that: an information processingterminal includes: first communicating means for communicating with aninformation processing apparatus by radio; first storing means forstoring a first control program; and first control program rewritingmeans for rewriting the first control program stored by the firststoring means; wherein the first control program rewriting meansrewrites the old first control program stored in the first storing meanson the basis of a new first control program stored on a removablerecording medium, and the first communicating means transmits a newsecond control program stored on the recording medium to the informationprocessing apparatus to upgrade an old second control program The firstcommunication system is also characterized in that: the informationprocessing apparatus includes: second communicating means forcommunicating with the information processing terminal by radio; secondstoring means for storing the second control program; and second controlprogram rewriting means for rewriting the old second control programstored by the second storing means on the basis of the new secondcontrol program obtained by the second communicating means from theinformation processing terminal.

According to the present invention, there is provided a secondcommunication system characterized in that: an information processingterminal includes: first communicating means for communicating with aninformation processing apparatus by radio; first storing means forstoring a control program; and control program rewriting means forrewriting the control program stored by the first storing means; whereinthe control program rewriting means rewrites the old control programstored by the first storing means on the basis of a new control programobtained by the first communicating means from the informationprocessing apparatus. The second communication system is alsocharacterized in that: the information processing apparatus includessecond communicating means for communicating with the informationprocessing terminal by radio and transmitting a control program obtainedfrom a first information processing terminal to a second informationprocessing terminal to upgrade a control program of the secondinformation processing terminal.

The first information processing terminal and method, and the program onthe first recording medium according to the present inventioncommunicate with an information processing apparatus by radio, store afirst control program, and rewrite the stored first control program. Thestored old first control program is rewritten on the basis of a newfirst control program stored on a removable recording medium, and asecond control program stored on the recording medium is transmitted tothe information processing apparatus to upgrade an old second controlprogram.

The second information processing terminal and method, and the programon the second recording medium according to the present inventioncommunicate with an information processing apparatus by radio, store acontrol program, and rewrite the stored control program. The stored oldcontrol program is rewritten on the basis of a new control programobtained from the information processing apparatus.

The information processing apparatus and method, and the program on thethird recording medium according to the present invention communicatewith an information processing terminal by radio, store a controlprogram, and rewrite the stored control program on the basis of acontrol program obtained from the information processing terminal.

The information processing terminal in the first communication systemaccording to the present invention communicates with an informationprocessing apparatus by radio, stores a first control program, andrewrites the stored first control program. The old first control programis rewritten on the basis of a new first control program stored on aremovable recording medium, and a new second control program stored onthe recording medium is transmitted to the information processingapparatus to upgrade an old second control program. The informationprocessing apparatus communicates with the information processingterminal by radio, stores the second control program, and rewrites thestored old second control program on the basis of the new second controlprogram obtained from the information processing terminal.

The information processing terminal in the second communication systemaccording to the present invention communicates with an informationprocessing apparatus by radio, stores a control program, and rewritesthe stored control program. The stored old control program is rewrittenon the basis of a new control program obtained from the informationprocessing apparatus. The information processing apparatus communicateswith the information processing terminal by radio and transmits acontrol program obtained from a first information processing terminal toa second information processing terminal to upgrade a control program ofthe second information processing terminal.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of configuration of acommunication system to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of an internalconfiguration of a display apparatus in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an example of an internalconfiguration of a base station in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of assistance in explaining processing of thedisplay apparatus in FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of assistance in explaining processing of the basestation in FIG. 1.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of assistance in explaining other processing ofthe base station in FIG. 1.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of assistance in explaining other processing ofthe display apparatus in FIG. 1.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of configuration of anothercommunication system to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing an example of an internalconfiguration of a personal computer.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of configuration of acommunication system to which the present invention is applied.

A base station 1 has a communication antenna 2, and can therebycommunicate by radio with each of a display apparatus 5A provided with acommunication antenna 6A, a display apparatus 5B provided with acommunication antenna 6B, and a display apparatus 5C provided with acommunication antenna 6C. (When each of the display apparatus 5A to 5Cdoes not need to be individually differentiated from the others, thedisplay apparatus 5A to 5C will hereinafter be referred to collectivelyas a display apparatus 5. The same applies to other constituent parts.)

The base station 1 is connected with a television broadcast receivingantenna 3. Thus, in response to a specification by a user of a channelto be selected, the base station 1 can extract a program signal fromtelevision broadcast waves received by the television broadcastreceiving antenna 3. The extracted program signal is compressed by acompression method conforming to MPEG (Moving Picture Experts Group) 2,for example, transmitted from the communication antenna 2 to the displayapparatus 5, and then outputted to a display unit 7 and speakers 8-1 and8-2 provided to the display apparatus 5. The user can thereby view thetelevision program while holding the display apparatus 5 and movingfreely.

The base station 1 is also connected with the Internet 4 formed by apublic line network and the like. Thus, in response to notification fromthe display apparatus 5 via the communication antenna 2 of a URL(Uniform Resource Locator) inputted by the user, the base station 1accesses a not shown WWW (World Wide Web) server connected to theInternet 4 and specified by the URL, and thereby obtains a Web pagedescribed in HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language), for example. Theobtained Web page is compressed by a predetermined compression method,transmitted from the communication antenna 2 to the display apparatus 5,and then displayed on the display unit 7. The user can thereby usevarious contents on the Internet 4 by means of the display apparatus 5while moving freely, as in the case of viewing the television program.The user can also use the display apparatus 5 to send and receive e-mailto and from an information processing apparatus such as a personalcomputer connected to the Internet 4.

Each of the display apparatus 5 is provided with a memory card slot 9 sothat a removable memory card 10 can be inserted into the memory cardslot 9. The memory card 10 has a nonvolatile flash memory therein, andcan store various information. The user can for example store a picturetaken by a digital camera on the memory card 10, insert the memory card10 into the memory card slot 9, and thereby display the taken picture onthe display unit 7. The user can also store on the memory card 10 adesired moment of a program displayed on the display unit 7, and laterreproduce the moment on the display unit 7.

In addition, the user can use the memory card 10 to install variousprograms stored thereon in the display apparatus 5. For example, theuser can use an upgrade program stored on the memory card 10 as acontrol program compatible with various data currently used in thedisplay apparatus 5 to upgrade a WWW browser program or the like storedin the display apparatus 5.

In the communication system of FIG. 1, when the user has upgraded aprogram stored in the display apparatus 5B using the memory card 10, forexample, an upgrade program for the base station 1 corresponding to theprogram stored in the display apparatus 5B is read from the memory card10, and then transmitted from the display apparatus 5B to the basestation 1. In response to the transmitted upgrade program, the basestation 1 upgrades a program stored therein (currently used program).

In the communication system of FIG. 1, the upgrade program (the sameprogram as the program installed in the display apparatus 5B) forprograms stored in the other display apparatus 5 (the display apparatus5A and 5C in the above case) is transmitted to the base station 1 inconjunction with the upgrade program for the base station 1, and thentransmitted from the base station 1 to the display apparatus 5A and 5C.Then, the display apparatus 5A and 5C also upgrade the currently usedprogram by the upgrade program received by the display apparatus 5A and5C. Thus, by installing the upgrade program in one of the displayapparatus 5, the user can upgrade the program of the other displayapparatus 5.

In addition, the user can make a setting to prohibit the currently usedprogram in each of the display apparatus 5 from being upgraded by theupgrade program transmitted from the base station 1. The user canthereby prevent the program that has been used and various settingsrelated to operation from being updated automatically.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of an internalconfiguration of the display apparatus 5 in FIG. 1.

According to various instructions inputted by operation of an operatinginput unit 22 by the user, a main control unit 21 unfolds, in a RAM(Random Access Memory) not shown in the figure, a control program storedin a built-in ROM (Read Only Memory) not shown in the figure, or aprogram storage unit 28-1 or 28-2. The main control unit 21 thuscontrols operation of the whole of the display apparatus 5.

The operating input unit 22 is formed of various buttons, and notifiesvarious input information inputted from the user to the main controlunit 21. The operating input unit 22 also has a function of a touchpanel laminated on the display unit 7; the operating input unit 22generates input information in response to the touching with the hand ofthe user of various buttons displayed on the display unit 7, and thensupplies the input information to the main control unit 21. In addition,the display apparatus 5 is provided with a touch pen for inputtingvarious information, and the operating input unit 22 supplies the maincontrol unit 21 with text data as e-mail inputted from the touch pen,for example.

A communication control unit 23 transmits a signal supplied from atransmission processing unit 24 to the base station 1 via thecommunication antenna 6. The communication control unit 23 also receivesa signal transmitted from the base station 1 via the communicationantenna 6, and then supplies the signal to a reception processing unit25.

The transmission processing unit 24 subjects the text data as e-mail,for example, supplied from the main control unit 21 to digital-to-analogconversion, modulation processing and the like, and then supplies aresulting analog signal to the communication control unit 23.

The reception processing unit 25 subjects the analog signal suppliedfrom the communication control unit 23 to amplification, demodulation,analog-to-digital conversion processing and the like, and then suppliesresulting digital data to the main control unit 21. For example, thereception processing unit 25 supplies the main control unit 21 withtelevision program data in a compressed state obtained after subjectinga television program signal supplied from the communication control unit23 to the various processing.

A reproduction control unit 26 reproduces data supplied from the maincontrol unit 21 for display on the display unit 7 or output to thespeaker 8. The reproduction control unit 26 for example decodes thetelevision program data supplied from the main control unit 21 in astate of being compressed in a format conforming to MPEG2, for example,and then displays a resulting video signal on the display unit 7 andoutputs a resulting audio signal to the speaker 8. The reproductioncontrol unit 26 also performs processing such as displaying a Web pagesupplied from the main control unit 21 on the display unit 7.

A selector switch 27 selects a control program to be supplied to themain control unit 21 from a control program stored by the programstorage unit 28-1 and a control program stored by the program storageunit 28-2 according to an instruction from the main control unit 21.

A selector switch 29 selects the program storage units 28-1 and 28-2into which an upgrade program supplied from a memory card driver 30 isto be installed, according to an instruction from the main control unit21. The selector switch 29 is for example alternately turned to an aside (program storage unit 28-1 side) and a b side (program storage unit28-2 side) in FIG. 2 to upgrade the stored control program each time anupgrade program is supplied. That is, the older of the control programsstored in the program storage unit 28-1 and the program storage unit28-2 is upgraded (rewritten)Incidentally, the user may be allowed toselect where to install a control program.

The memory card driver 30 reads and writes various data from and to thememory card 10 inserted in the memory card slot 9. For example, thememory card driver 30 reads the control program stored on the memorycard 10 according to an instruction from the main control unit 21, andthen supplies the control program to the selector switch 29.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an example of an internalconfiguration of the base station 1.

A CPU 41 controls operation of each part connected to the CPU 41 via abus 42 according to an instruction inputted from the user by operatingan input unit 51 and an instruction transmitted from the displayapparatus 5 via the communication antenna 2.

A ROM 43 stores programs for controlling fundamental operation and thelike among control programs used by the CPU 41. A RAM 44 temporarilystores a program used by the CPU 41 and various data generated whenprocessing is performed.

Program storage units 46-1 and 46-2 store a control program in a versioncorresponding to that of a control program stored in the program storageunits 28-1 and 28-2, respectively, of the display apparatus 5A. Thus,when the control program of the program storage unit 28-1 is started bythe main control unit 21 in the display apparatus 5A, for example, theCPU 41 starts the control program stored in the program storage unit46-1 to communicate with the display apparatus 5A.

Similarly, program storage units 48-1 and 48-2 store a control programin a version corresponding to that of a control program stored in theprogram storage units 28-1 and 28-2, respectively, of the displayapparatus 5B. Program storage units 50-1 and 50-2 store a controlprogram in a version corresponding to that of a control program storedin the program storage units 28-1 and 28-2, respectively, of the displayapparatus 5C.

As described later, when the display apparatus 5 upgrades the controlprogram of either one of the program storage units 28-1 and 28-2, thecontrol program stored in the corresponding program storage unit of thebase station 1 is also upgraded.

Selector switches 45, 47, and 49 select the program storage units forreading and writing the control programs according to an instructionfrom the CPU 41.

The input unit 51 sends input information inputted by operating a buttonby the user to the CPU 41 via the bus 42.

A communication unit 52 is formed by a modem, a terminal adapter and thelike, and sends and receives information to and from various informationprocessing apparatus connected to the Internet 4.

A channel selecting unit 53 extracts a specified program signal fromtelevision broadcast waves received by the television broadcastreceiving antenna 3 according to an instruction from the CPU 41. Theextracted program signal is supplied to a demodulating unit 54,subjected to demodulation processing, amplification processing,analog-to-digital conversion processing and the like, and then suppliedto a selector switch 55.

The selector switch 55 selects data to be transmitted to the displayapparatus 5 from the television program data supplied to the selectorswitch 55 from the demodulating unit 54 and an HTML file supplied to theselector switch 55 via the bus 42 according to an instruction from theCPU 41, and then supplies the data to a compression processing unit 56.When the display apparatus 5A requests reproduction of a televisionprogram and the display apparatus 5B requests display of a Web page, forexample, the CPU 41 drives the selector switch 55 so as to respond tothe requests.

The compression processing unit 56 subjects the television program datasupplied from the selector switch 55 and the HTML file supplied from thecommunication unit 52 via the bus 42 to compression processing by apredetermined method, and then supplies resulting data to a transmissionbuffer 57. The transmission buffer 57 supplies the data supplied fromthe compression processing unit 56 to a transmission processing unit 58according to an instruction for timing from the CPU 41.

The transmission processing unit 58 supplies a communication controlunit 60 with a signal obtained by subjecting the data supplied from thetransmission buffer 57 to modulation, digital-to-analog conversionprocessing and the like. The communication control unit 60 thentransmits the data supplied from the transmission processing unit 58from the communication antenna 2 to the display apparatus 5 requestingthe data.

A reception processing unit 59 sends, to the CPU 41 via the bus 42, dataobtained by subjecting a signal of a URL of a WWW server to be accessed,for example, the signal having being received from the display apparatus5 by the communication control unit 60 via the communication antenna 2,to demodulation processing and the like.

Operation of the communication system in FIG. 1 will next be describedwith reference to flowcharts of FIGS. 4 to 7. First, processing of thedisplay apparatus 5 for upgrading a program will be described withreference to the flowchart of FIG. 4.

At a step S1, the main control unit 21 determines on the basis of inputinformation from the operating input unit 22 whether an instruction forupgrading a control program is provided from the user. The main controlunit 21 stands by until the main control unit 21 determines that theinstruction is provided from the user.

When the user inserts the memory card 10 having an upgrade programstored thereon into the memory card slot 9 and performs a predeterminedinput operation from the operating input unit 22, the main control unit21 determines that the instruction for upgrade is provided, and thenproceeds to a step S2.

At the step S2, the main control unit 21 determines whether processingof upgrading the control program has been performed in the past. On thebasis of results of determination at the step S2 and a step S4, the maincontrol unit 21 selects the program storage unit 28-1 or 28-2 having theolder-version control program stored therein, and overwrites theolder-version control program with the upgrade program provided via thememory card 10.

Thus, when the main control unit 21 determines at the step S2 that theupgrade processing has not been performed in the past, the main controlunit 21 proceeds to a step S3 to read the upgrade program by controllingthe memory card driver 30, drive the selector switch 29 to the switch bside (program storage unit 28-2 side), and thereby install the upgradeprogram in the program storage unit 28-2. That is, in this case, theprogram storage unit 28-1 stores a first control program (controlprogram used in an initial state), and the program storage unit 28-2does not store anything. Thus, the version of the control program storedin the program storage unit 28-2 becomes newer than the version of thecontrol program stored in the program storage unit 28-1.

When the main control unit 21 determines at the step S2 that the upgradeprocessing has been performed in the past, on the other hand, the maincontrol unit 21 compares the version of the control program stored inthe program storage unit 28-1 with the version of the control programstored in the program storage unit 28-2. The main control unit 21 thendetermines at the step S4 whether the control program stored in theprogram storage unit 28-1 is newer than the control program stored inthe program storage unit 28-2.

When the main control unit 21 determines at the step S4 that the controlprogram stored in the program storage unit 28-1 is newer than thecontrol program stored in the program storage unit 28-2, the maincontrol unit 21 proceeds to the step S3 and installs the control programstored on the memory card 10 into the program storage unit 28-2 so as toupgrade the older-version control program.

On the other hand, when the main control unit 21 determines at the stepS4 that the control program stored in the program storage unit 28-1 isolder than the control program stored in the program storage unit 28-2,the main control unit 21 proceeds to a step S5 to drive the selectorswitch 29 to the a side and install the control program stored on thememory card 10 into the program storage unit 28-1.

After the processing of upgrading the control program is performed atthe step S3 or the step S5, the processing proceeds to a step S6. At thestep S6, in order to upgrade also the control programs of the basestation 1 and the other display apparatus 5 (display apparatus 5B and 5Cwhen the memory card 10 is inserted into the display apparatus 5A andthe upgrade processing is performed therein), the main control unit 21reads from the memory card 10 the same control program as the controlprogram installed at the step S3 or S5 and a control program for thebase station 1 corresponding to the version of the same control programas the control program installed at the step S3 or S5. The read controlprograms are subjected to modulation, digital-to-analog conversionprocessing and the like by the transmission processing unit 24 and thecommunication control unit 23, and then transmitted from thecommunication antenna 6 to the base station 1. Thereafter, theprocessing is ended.

As a result of the above processing, the control programs are stored inthe program storage units 28-1 and 28-2. Therefore, even if the upgradeprocessing is not completed properly, the main control unit 21 can startthe older-version control program to perform various processing.

Processing of the base station 1 for upgrading a control program willnext be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 5.

At a step S21, the CPU 41 determines whether an upgrade program has beentransmitted to the base station 1 from the display apparatus 5A. Thatis, the CPU 41 determines whether the processing described withreference to FIG. 4 has been performed in the display apparatus 5A. Whenthe CPU 41 determines that the upgrade program received by thecommunication antenna 2, subjected to amplification, demodulation,analog-to-digital conversion processing and the like by the receptionprocessing unit 59, and transmitted to the CPU 41 via the bus 42 hasbeen transmitted to the base station 1 from the display apparatus 5A,the CPU 41 proceeds to a step S22.

At a step S22, the CPU 41 determines whether an upgrade program has beeninstalled in the program storage unit 28-1 in the display apparatus 5A.

When the CPU 41 determines at the step S22 that the upgrade programprovided via the memory card 10 has been installed in the programstorage unit 28-1 in the display apparatus 5A, the CPU 41 proceeds to astep S23 to receive the transmitted control program for the base station1 and then install the control program in the program storage unit 46-1.The selector switch 45 turns the switch to the a side (program storageunit 46-1 side) according to an instruction from the CPU 41 to installthe upgrade program supplied from the reception processing unit 59 intothe program storage unit 46-1.

On the other hand, when the CPU 41 determines at the step S22 that theupgrade program provided via the memory card 10 has not been installedin the program storage unit 28-1 (has been installed in the programstorage unit 28-2) in the display apparatus 5A, the CPU 41 proceeds to astep S24. At the step S24, the CPU 41 drives the selector switch 45 tothe b side (program storage unit 46-2 side) to install the upgradeprogram supplied from the reception processing unit 59 into the programstorage unit 46-2.

As a result of the above processing, the control program for the basestation 1 is stored so that the version of the control program installedin the display apparatus 5A corresponds to the version of the controlprogram for the base station 1. When the control program stored in theprogram storage unit 28-1 is started in the display apparatus 5A, forexample, the base station 1 starts the control program stored in theprogram storage unit 46-1.

On the other hand, when the CPU 41 determines at the step S21 that theupgrade program has not been transmitted from the display apparatus 5A,the CPU 41 proceeds to a step S25.

At the step S25, the CPU 41 determines whether the upgrade program hasbeen transmitted from the display apparatus 5B. When the CPU 41determines that the upgrade program has been transmitted from thedisplay apparatus 5B, the CPU 41 performs basically the same processingat steps S26 to S28 as that of the foregoing steps S22 to S24.

Specifically, the CPU 41 determines at the step S26 whether the upgradeprogram has been stored in the program storage unit 28-1 as a result ofperforming the processing described with reference to FIG. 4 in thedisplay apparatus 5B. When the CPU 41 determines that the upgradeprogram provided via the memory card 10 has been installed in theprogram storage unit 28-1 in the display apparatus 5B, the CPU 41 storesthe transmitted upgrade program for the base station 1 in the programstorage unit 48-1 at the step S27. On the other hand, when the CPU 41determines that the upgrade program provided via the memory card 10 hasbeen installed in the storage unit 28-2 in the display apparatus 5B, theCPU 41 installs the transmitted upgrade program for the base station 1in the program storage unit 48-2.

When the CPU 41 determines at the step S25 that the upgrade program hasnot been transmitted from the display apparatus 5B, the CPU 41 proceedsto a step S29.

At the step S29, the CPU 41 determines whether the upgrade program hasbeen transmitted from the display apparatus 5C. When the CPU 41determines that the upgrade program has not been transmitted from thedisplay apparatus 5C, the CPU 41 returns to the step S21 and repeats theprocessing from the step S21 on down.

On the other hand, when the CPU 41 determines at the step S29 that theupgrade program has been transmitted from the display apparatus 5C, theCPU 41 performs basically the same processing at steps S30 to S32 asthat of the foregoing steps S22 to S24 and that of the foregoing stepsS26 to S28.

Specifically, the CPU 41 determines at the step S30 whether the upgradeprogram has been stored in the program storage unit 28-1 as a result ofperforming the processing described with reference to FIG. 4 in thedisplay apparatus 5C. When the CPU 41 determines that the upgradeprogram provided via the memory card 10 has been installed in theprogram storage unit 28-1 in the display apparatus 5C, the CPU 41 storesthe transmitted upgrade program for the base station 1 in the programstorage unit 50-1 at the step S31. On the other hand, when the CPU 41determines that the upgrade program provided via the memory card 10 hasbeen installed in the storage unit 28-2 in the display apparatus 5C, theCPU 41 installs the transmitted upgrade program for the base station 1in the program storage unit 50-2 at the step S32.

As a result of the above processing, the control program in the sameversion is also installed in the base station 1.

Processing of the base station 1 for transmitting an upgrade program todisplay apparatus 5 that have not upgraded the control program will nextbe described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 6.

At a step S41, the CPU 41 determines whether or not an upgrade programhas been transmitted to the base station 1 from the display apparatus5A. That is, the CPU 41 determines whether or not the processingdescribed with reference to FIG. 4 has been performed in the displayapparatus 5A and the same control program as the control programinstalled therein has been transmitted at the step S6 in FIG. 4. Whenthe CPU 41 determines that an upgrade program has been transmitted fromthe display apparatus 5A, the CPU 41 proceeds to a step S42.

At the step S42, the CPU 41 transmits the received upgrade program(control program installed in the display apparatus 5A) to the displayapparatus 5B and 5C. The upgrade program of the display apparatus 5received by the communication antenna 2 is subjected to variousprocessing by the reception processing unit 59, and then supplied to thecompression processing unit 56 via the bus 42 and the selector switch55. Control program data obtained after the compression processing unit56 subjects the upgrade program to predetermined compression processingis supplied to the transmission buffer 57, and then supplied to thetransmission processing unit 58 according to an instruction for timingfrom the CPU 41. The control program data is subjected to modulation anddigital-to-analog conversion processing by the transmission processingunit 58, and then transmitted from the communication control unit 60 tothe display apparatus 5B and 5C via the communication antenna 2.

On the other hand, when the CPU 41 determines at the step S41 that theupgrade program has not been transmitted from the display apparatus 5A,the CPU 41 proceeds to a step S43.

At the step S43, the CPU 41 determines whether or not the upgradeprogram has been transmitted from the display apparatus 5B. When the CPU41 determines that the upgrade program has been transmitted from thedisplay apparatus 5B, the CPU 41 proceeds to a step S44. At the stepS44, the same processing as at the foregoing step S42 is performed totransmit the received upgrade program of the display apparatus 5 to thedisplay apparatus 5A and 5C.

When the CPU 41 determines at the step S43 that the upgrade program hasnot been transmitted from the display apparatus 5B, the CPU 41 proceedsto a step S45.

At the step S45, the CPU 41 determines whether or not the upgradeprogram has been transmitted from the display apparatus 5C. When the CPU41 determines that the upgrade program has not been transmitted from thedisplay apparatus 5C, the CPU 41 returns to the step S41 and repeats theprocessing from the step S41 on down.

On the other hand, when the CPU 41 determines at the step S45 that theupgrade program has been transmitted from the display apparatus 5C, theCPU 41 proceeds to a step S46, and the same processing as at theforegoing steps S42 and S44 is performed. Specifically, the receivedupgrade program of the display apparatus 5 is transmitted to the displayapparatus 5A and 5B.

Processing of the display apparatus 5 for upgrading by a control programtransmitted from the base station 1 will next be described withreference to the flowchart of FIG. 7. This processing is performed inthe display apparatus 5 that have not upgraded a control program via thememory card 10. When the control program of the display apparatus 5B isupgraded via the memory card 10 as shown in FIG. 1, for example, theprocessing is performed in the display apparatus 5A and 5C.

At a step S61, the main control unit 21 determines whether or not anupgrade program has been transmitted to the display apparatus 5 from thebase station 1. The main control unit 21 stands by until the maincontrol unit 21 determines that an upgrade program has been transmittedto the display apparatus 5.

When the main control unit 21 determines at the step S61 that an upgradeprogram has been transmitted from the base station 1, the main controlunit 21 proceeds to a step S62. The upgrade program transmitted from thebase station 1 is received by the communication antenna 6, subjected todemodulation processing, analog-to-digital conversion processing and thelike by the communication control unit 23 and the reception processingunit 25, and then supplied to the main control unit 21.

At the step S62, the main control unit 21 determines whether or not asetting for refusing control program upgrade has been made.Specifically, as described above, the user can make a setting in thedisplay apparatus 5 used by the user himself/herself to refuse controlprogram upgrade by the upgrade program transmitted from the base station1. Therefore, when the main control unit 21 determines that a settingfor refusing control program upgrade has been made by a flag in a memorynot shown in the figure or the like, the main control unit 21 ends theprocessing.

On the other hand, when the main control unit 21 determines at the stepS62 that no setting for refusing control program upgrade has been made,the main control unit 21 proceeds to a step S63 to perform the sameprocessing at steps S63 to S66 as at the steps S2 to S5 in FIG. 4.Specifically, when the main control unit 21 determines at the step S63that upgrade has not been performed in the past, no control program isstored in the program storage unit 28-2, and therefore the upgradeprogram transmitted from the base station 1 is installed in the programstorage unit 28-2 at the step S64.

When the main control unit 21 determines at the step S63 that upgradehas been performed in the past, on the other hand, the main control unit21 determines at the step S65 which of the control programs stored inthe program storage units 28-1 and 28-2 is the newer version. Accordingto a result of the determination, the upgrade program transmitted fromthe base station 1 is installed in the program storage unit that storesthe older-version control program at the step S64 or S66.

With the above processing, even when a plurality of display apparatus 5are connected to the base station 1, it is not necessary to insert thememory card 10 into each of the display apparatus 5 to install thecontrol program. In addition, since a version of the control programthat has been previously used is stored, a situation where the displayapparatus 5 cannot be used is prevented even if it is not possible toexecute the upgraded control program properly.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of configuration of anothercommunication system to which the present invention is applied.

In this example, a base station 1 is connected with a home network 71formed by a LAN (Local Area Network), for example. Also, the homenetwork 71 is connected with electronic devices 72-1 to 72-3, so thatthe electronic devices 72-1 to 72-3 can transmit and receive data to andfrom each other.

Hence, when a control program of a display apparatus 5 is upgraded via amemory card 10, not only are control programs of the base station 1 andother display apparatus 5 upgraded, but also an upgrade program for theelectronic devices 72-1 to 72-3 connected to the home network 71 is readfrom the memory card 10 and installed in the electronic devices 72-1 to72-3.

Thus, in addition to the upgrading of control programs of the basestation 1 and the display apparatus 5, the present invention isapplicable to various electronic devices.

In the example described above, when each electronic device can store aplurality of versions of a control program, a new version of the controlprogram is installed alternately in two program storage units 28-1 and28-2. However, three or more program storage units may be provided, andthe user may be allowed to select a program storage unit forinstallation.

The series of processing steps described above may be carried out notonly by hardware but also by software.

When the series of processing steps is to be carried out by software, aprogram forming the software is installed from a network or a recordingmedium into a general-purpose personal computer 81 as shown in FIG. 9,for example, and provided to the base station 1 or the display apparatus5 via the memory card 10 or the like. The program may be installed inthe base station 1 directly from the Internet 4 as a network.

As shown in FIG. 9, the recording medium is not only formed by packagedmedia distributed to users to provide the program separately from theapparatus proper, the packaged media being formed by a magnetic disk 101(including a floppy disk), an optical disk 102 (including CD-ROM(Compact Disk-Read Only Memory) and DVD (Digital Versatile Disk)), amagneto-optical disk 103 (including MD (Mini-Disk)), the memory card 10or the like having the program recorded thereon, but also formed by aROM 92, a hard disk included in a storage unit 98 or the like which hasthe program recorded thereon and is supplied to the user in a state ofbeing preincorporated in the apparatus proper.

It is to be noted that in the present specification, the stepsdescribing the program recorded on the recording medium include not onlyprocessing carried out in time series in the described order but alsoprocessing carried out in parallel or individually and not necessarilyin time series.

Also, in the present specification, a system represents an apparatus asa whole formed by a plurality of apparatus.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possibleto readily upgrade software of information processing apparatusconnected by a network without using a recording medium.

1. An information processing terminal comprising: communicating meansfor communicating with an information processing apparatus by radio;storing means for storing a first control program; and control programrewriting means for rewrites said first control program stored by saidstoring means in accordance with a status of a user set setting, whereinsaid control program rewriting means rewrites said first control programstored in said storing means on the basis of a new said first controlprogram, wherein said user set setting is a setting relating to theoperation of said first control program that allows a user to block saidcontrol program rewriting means from rewriting said first controlprogram, and wherein said communicating means transmits a second controlprogram stored on said recording medium to said information processingapparatus to upgrade an old said second control program.
 2. Aninformation processing terminal as set forth in claim 1, wherein saidcommunicating means transmits to said information processing apparatussaid second control program for said information processing apparatuscorresponding to said first control program obtained by the rewriting ofsaid control program rewriting means.
 3. An information processingterminal as set forth in claim 1, wherein said storing means can store aplurality of said first control programs; and wherein said controlprogram rewriting means rewrites only one of the plurality of said firstcontrol programs.
 4. An information processing method comprising: acommunicating step for communicating with an information processingapparatus by radio; a storing step for storing a first control program;and a control program rewriting step for rewriting said first controlprogram stored by processing of said storing step in accordance with astatus of a user set setting, wherein processing of said control programrewriting step rewrites said first control program stored by theprocessing of said storing step on the basis of a new said first controlprogram, wherein said user set setting is a setting relating to theoperation of said first control program that allows a user to block saidcontrol program rewriting means from rewriting said first controlprogram, and wherein processing of said communicating step transmits asecond control program stored on said recording medium to saidinformation processing apparatus to upgrade an old said second controlprogram.
 5. A recording medium having a computer readable programrecorded thereon, said program comprising: a communicating step forcommunicating with an information processing apparatus by radio; astoring step for storing a first control program; and a control programrewriting step for rewriting said first control program stored byprocessing of said storing step in accordance with a status of a userset setting, wherein processing of said control program rewriting steprewrites said first control program stored by the processing of saidstoring step on the basis of a new said first control program, whereinsaid user set setting is a setting relating to the operation of saidfirst control program that allows a user to block said control programrewriting means from rewriting said first control program, and whereinprocessing of said communicating step transmits a second control programstored on said recording medium to said information processing apparatusto upgrade an old said second control program.
 6. An informationprocessing terminal comprising: communicating means for communicatingwith an information processing apparatus by radio; storing means forstoring a control program; and control program rewriting means forrewriting said control program stored by said storing means inaccordance with a status of a user set setting, wherein said controlprogram rewriting means rewrites said control program stored by saidstoring means on the basis of a new said control program obtained bysaid communicating means from said information processing apparatus, andwherein said user set setting is a setting relating to the operation ofsaid control program that allows a user to block said control programrewriting means from rewriting said control program.
 7. An informationprocessing terminal as set forth in claim 6, wherein said storing meanscan store a plurality of said control programs; and wherein said controlprogram rewriting means rewrites only one of the plurality of saidcontrol programs.
 8. An information processing terminal as set forth inclaim 6, wherein said communicating means obtains a new said controlprogram transmitted from another information processing terminal to saidinformation processing apparatus.
 9. An information processing methodcomprising: a communicating step for communicating with an informationprocessing apparatus by radio; a storing step for storing a controlprogram; and a control program rewriting step for rewriting said controlprogram stored by processing of said storing step in accordance with astatus of a user set setting, wherein processing of said control programrewriting step rewrites said control program stored by the processing ofsaid storing step on the basis of a new said control program obtained byprocessing of said communicating step from said information processingapparatus, and wherein said user set setting is a setting relating tothe operation of said control program that allows a user to block saidcontrol program rewriting means from rewriting said control program. 10.A recording medium having a computer readable program recorded thereon,said program comprising: a communicating step for communicating with aninformation processing apparatus by radio; a storing step for storing acontrol program; and a control program rewriting step for rewriting saidcontrol program stored by processing of said storing step in accordancewith a status of a user set setting, wherein processing of said controlprogram rewriting step rewrites said control program stored by theprocessing of said storing step on the basis of a new said controlprogram obtained by processing of said communicating step from saidinformation processing apparatus, and wherein said user set setting is asetting relating to the operation of said control program that allows auser to block said control program rewriting means from rewriting saidcontrol program.
 11. An information processing apparatus comprising:communicating means for communicating with an information processingterminal by radio; storing means for storing a first control program;and control program rewriting means for rewriting said first controlprogram stored by said storing means on the basis of a second controlprogram obtained by said communicating means from said informationprocessing terminal in accordance with a status of a user set setting,wherein said user set setting is a setting relating to the operation ofsaid first control program that allows a user to block said controlprogram rewriting means from rewriting said first control program. 12.An information processing apparatus as set forth in claim 11, whereinwhen a plurality of said information processing terminals are provided,said communicating means transmits a control program obtained from afirst said information processing terminal to a second informationprocessing terminal to upgrade a control program of the secondinformation processing terminal.
 13. An information processing methodcomprising: a communicating step for communicating with an informationprocessing terminal by radio; a storing step for storing a first controlprogram; and a control program rewriting step for rewriting said firstcontrol program stored by processing of said storing step on the basisof a second control program obtained by processing of said communicatingstep from said information processing terminal in accordance with astatus of a user set setting, wherein said user set setting is a settingrelating to the operation of said first control program that allows auser to block said control program rewriting means from rewriting saidfirst control program.
 14. A recording medium having a computer readableprogram recorded thereon, said program comprising: a communicating stepfor communicating with an information processing terminal by radio; astoring step for storing a first control program; and a control programrewriting step for rewriting said first control program stored byprocessing of said storing step on the basis of a second control programobtained by processing of said communicating step from said informationprocessing terminal in accordance with a status of a user set setting,wherein said user set setting is a setting relating to the operation ofsaid first control program that allows a user to block said controlprogram rewriting means from rewriting said first control program.
 15. Acommunication system comprising an information processing terminal andan information processing apparatus said information processing terminalcomprises: first communicating means for communicating with saidinformation processing apparatus by radio; first storing means forstoring a first control program; and first control program rewritingmeans for rewriting said first control program stored by said firststoring means in accordance with a status of a user set setting, whereinsaid first control program rewriting means rewrites said first controlprogram stored in said first storing means on the basis of a new saidfirst control program, wherein said user set setting is a settingrelating to the operation of said first control program that allows auser to block said control program rewriting means from rewriting saidfirst control program, wherein said first communicating means transmitsa new second control program stored on said recording medium to saidinformation processing apparatus to upgrade an old said second controlprogram; and said information processing apparatus comprises: secondcommunicating means for communicating with said information processingterminal by radio; second storing means for storing said second controlprogram; and second control program rewriting means for rewriting theold said second control program stored by said second storing means onthe basis of the new said second control program obtained by said secondcommunicating means from said information processing terminal.
 16. Acommunication system comprising an information processing terminal andan information processing apparatus, said information processingterminal comprises: first communicating means for communicating withsaid information processing apparatus by radio; first storing means forstoring a first control program; and control program rewriting means forrewriting said first control program stored by said first storing meansin accordance with a status of a user set setting, wherein said controlprogram rewriting means rewrites said control program stored by saidfirst storing means on the basis of a new control program obtained bysaid first communicating means from said information processingapparatus, and wherein said user set setting is a setting relating tothe operation of said first control program that allows a user to blocksaid control program rewriting means from rewriting said first controlprogram; and said information processing apparatus comprises: secondcommunicating means for communicating with said information processingterminal by radio and transmitting said new control program obtainedfrom a first said information processing terminal to a secondinformation processing terminal to upgrade a different control programof the second said information processing terminal.